Int'l students tell of Turkey through art

Turkey's Federation of International Student Associations (UDEF) announced the winners of competitions in the short film, poetry and short story categories on Friday.

The competition was organized by UDEF for foreign students studying in Turkey. UDEF head Mehmet Ali Bolat, World Etnospor Chairman Confederation Bilal Erdoğan and Health Minister Ahmet Demircan participated in the event.

Speaking at the ceremony, Bolat said more than 100,000 international students from 160 countries are studying in Turkey. Bolat also said the main aim of the project is to be able to see Turkey through the eyes of foreign students and to give them the opportunity to express their feelings and what they gained during their time in Turkey.

Manasbeg Maksudov from Kyrgyzstan won the best short film award for "Turkey is My Country."

Aziz Jahanov from Turkmenistan won second place for "We are One Nation," and Syed Fouzon Ishaqui from India came in third for his short movie "Turkey."

The best short story award was given to Ouesseini Zorome from Burkina Faso for "The Black Boy in the Classroom." Rabul Islam from Bangladesh won second place for "A Torn Notebook," and Alizhon Shaymardonov from Afghanistan won third for his short story, "Turkey, Hope for Oppressed."

In the poetry category, Sabina Abbasli from Azerbaijan came in first, Betul al-Haznevi from Syria was second and Adam Abubakar from Nigeria was third.

The jurors included Justice and Development (AK) Party Deputy Chairman Ravza Kavakçı, a number of AK Party lawmakers and Ankara Chamber of Commerce Chairman Gürsel Baran.

UDEF is a nongovernmental organization founded in 2014 to provide coordination between international student associations.